The Last Clone Captain
by CyanGalaxy
Summary: All Rex is trying to do is protect his Jedi General from the enemy like always. But Rex never thought the enemy would be his own brothers. (Order 66 AU. Anakin didn't turn to the Dark Side. Rex/Anakin friendship)


Being a General in the Grand Army of the Republic was a dangerous role. You'd face merciless opponents, be in endless agonising situations and fight in the most menacing attacks... but at least the legion of clone troopers defending you will always have your back, right?...Wrong...It was the moment when your Jedi starfighter got shot down by the very men that were supposed to protect you, when you realise just how much of a hazardous position you're in, compared to all the rest.

Rex assumed that those kind of thoughts must be running through Skywalker's mind at the moment, as the two of them hid in an abandoned warehouse among the underworlds of Coruscant, praying to not be seen by the traitorous clones that claim to be serving under Lord Sidious.

The very moment that Rex received that hologram of the Chancellor saying, " _The time has come. Execute Order 66._ ", everything turned to complete chaos. His own brothers started firing or shooting down their Jedi General's, either flying in the sky or marching on the land. Rex was forced to watch something he never wanted to see... Something that never should exist. The very nightmares in his sleep were coming true.

Men— _good_ men—like Dogma, Redeye and even Commander Appo started to yell out swears like ' _Jedi dogs_ ', ' _treacherous Jedi_ ' and ' _Jedi scum_ ' over the commlinks whenever a member of the 501st seemed to land a hit on Skywalker's fighter. Rex was completely paralysed as he watched the scene unfold. One thing he would always remember though, was Skywalker's voice ringing throughout the connected frequencies of all the 501st fighters flying at that moment. His voice was so distressed and wild and _petrified_... Rex never thought he'd see the day where Grand General Anakin Skywalker was _scared_ , let alone completely petrified...

Skywalker's last shout was ended by the commlink breaking as so did his fighter, crashing into Coruscant's below-surface underworlds.

And now Captain Rex finds himself with the one person who would probably never want to see another clone in his life again after that.

The General was seriously injured from that crash, so Rex was the one to bring him here in this old warehouse. The city of Coruscant was overpowered by clones, so it wasn't logical to take the most well-known Jedi, face of the Republic, Hero With No Fear to a standard medcentre. Plus, the Jedi Temple was out of the question, too. That the place was smoking meant the clones had now reach the sacred sanctuary, as well.

"Rex," came the barely audible sound of the other man's voice, strained and pained. Immediately the Captain's immense guilt sunk in. Pulling away from the heavily boarded-up large windows, he came to his General's side. Skywalker was rested on the ground, leaning against the cold, cement wall, not having the ability to stand. His once-shady-black tunic was now a dark crimson red, tainted with blood that was everywhere—Anakin's clothes, his body, his hair, even Rex's armour and the ground. If Rex didn't know better, he'd think this was a murder scene... And if Skywalker did die, that wouldn't be so far from the truth. "Rex, they're coming. I-I know." He said in a low mumble, eyes hardly open.

The clone assumed it was the Jedi's senses that informed him of the near danger, so he didn't even question him. Rex looked back at the boarded-up windows, and then not a moment later, the faint sound of an entire clone battalion marching could be heard. They were far away, but Rex knew that they wouldn't stay that way.

The corner of the clone's eyes caught movement, as Skywalker's blood-coated hand drifted towards his lightsaber. Rex already knew what the Jedi was thinking: defend to stay alive. Rex knew immediately that Skywalker would never kill his own men, yet he'd do anything to live to fight another day. But how can you do that when you've critically injured, barely holding on, and struggling to stand? Skywalker may have made it in tough situations before, but he couldn't survive the battle fighting against his own legion. Rex didn't know if it was the thought of killing his comrades, or them killing him, but there was definitely a flash of dread in the general's irises.

"You can't; you're too badly hurt." Rex replied rather gravely, realising the General would never be in this mess if it wasn't for his own kind. What possessed them to kill? What made them hunt their own general? What happened to fighting alongside the person they were defending. "I can't let you go out there." If his general died because of him, he'd never be able to look at himself in the mirror again, too disgusted by the thought that he shared the same face as his traitorous brothers.

Now Skywalker's features mirrored an equally downhearted expression as the Captain's, his pure blue eyes filled with sorrow. "Don't do that." Was all he whispered.

Rex stared back and replied, "Do what?" He was contemplating adding a 'sir' on the end, but decided that this is definitely not the time for formalities.

"Feel guilty." But how is one not supposed to feel guilty if the men you're responsible for go off on a killing rampage? "It's not your fault, Rex. You didn't ask for this. Even _they_ didn't, either. You were just smart enough to remove the programming chip..." That was true, though Rex wasn't sure the general's words helped. Yes, the clones may not be doing this intentionally, but in their minds all they know right now is destruction and killing Jedi. "Those men aren't who they once were."

A pang of emotions ran through Rex, mixture of anger, sorrow and shame. Those men are still the same men, but they are just so lost in following Order 66 that all they know is ' _good soldiers follow orders_ ', not having a sense of remorse or guilt for what they're doing: their duty. Those men _are_ still the same men, which makes it even worse.

"I'll go out there." Rex said, suddenly sounding a lot more steady and less shaky than he thought.

The Captain could see the defiance within the Jedi's face even in his state, but Skywalker didn't protest aloud, just merely shaking his head once, too dizzy to continue the motion.

"I can distract them—lead them away." For years he had been protecting his General, and definitely wasn't going to stop now.

"No, Rex. I can't let you go alone—"

"But they'll kill us both when they find us." Rex cut in. "I defied against Order 66, and you're a Jedi. At least if I go out there, they'll think I'm alone and you died in the crash. This way at least one of us gets to live."

"Stay here." It wasn't an order, but Skywalker's last command as not a General but a companion. "We can die together then." Closer than a friend, and maybe like a brother. After all, those clones were no longer family. Family would never turn on their own. "It was an honour serving with you, Captain."

•••

 **A/N**

 **I was shaking writing this 'cause I just hated the thought of Anakin experiencing Order 66 this way, especially with Rex. This is based off Emjen Enla's and Patientalien's Rex/Anakin friendship fic, so I thought I would try it out, too. I implied that Rex and Anakin are sort of like brothers in this, yet idk if they are. There's definitely some kind of brotherly friendship there, but the brother relationship probably should be shared between Anakin and Obi-Wan... Oh well. :/**

 **Feedback is appreciated and requests are always welcomed.**

 **May the Force be with you**

 **-CyanGalaxy**


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